Special feature: Colin Tattum reflects on the Birmingham City career of Jack Butland

If temperament as well as talent takes you to the top, then Butland is on a fast ascent.

The way Butland handled his £3.5 million transfer to Stoke City (and the very fact he opted for Stoke, too) and then continued as if it was business as usual at Birmingham City has been highly impressive.

Butland knew several weeks ago that the St Andrew’s powers that be had earmarked him as the sacrificial lamb, for financial reasons. The club was dicing with administration.

He didn’t let that faze him, nor did he succumb to the bight lights and pound signs when it came to making the decision about his destination.

Chelsea received communication that Butland wanted to play, and not be jostling in a queue to eventually replace Petr Cech.

Stoke, with Asmir Begovic likely to be leaving in the summer, were a better option for the England cap.

“I’m not 20 until next month so, especially as a goalkeeper, I know I’m still really young,” said Butland.

“I know there’s no need to force anything. I’ve got to take the right steps and that’s what I’ve done with Stoke.

“It’s somewhere I can go and develop my game further and hopefully play plenty of years for them in the Premier League.”

Tony Pulis has not given Butland any guarantees, but obviously there is a clear pathway.

“My number one target is to play Premier League football,” said Butland.

Jack Butland

“Whether I do that next season or not is something that is only down to me.

“If I prove to Tony Pulis that I am good enough to play, then hopefully that’s the case.

“If not, then I will have to carry on and make sure I get the games to prove that one day I can play [at that level].”

Stoke could loan Butland out next season, and Lee Clark would like him back, if possible.

Butland, who has been nurtured by Blues since he was 14, is opened minded.

“Wherever it takes, the highest level I can play at.

“If we manage to pull off something here at Birmingham and get into the play-offs . . . but that’s a long way away yet.

“This is a club I have been at a long time and I love playing for.

“Birmingham is somewhere I’d love to come back to and play for one day, but my number one focus is Premier League football.”

Butland’s immediate focus is to maintain his form at Blues. And judging by his performance at Charlton Athletic on Saturday, his head is not elsewhere.

Afterwards, speaking to the media at large for the first time since the transfer, he cut an impressive figure.

It was no surprise to this reporter who has monitored his progress through the Academy, but national reporters who had never met him were quite taken aback.

Not only a towering presence at 6ft 5in, but Butland was intelligent, articulate and thoughtful as he answered questions (plus he was sporting a Help Harry Help Others bracelet on his right wrist).

It led one reporter to observe: ‘I can’t believe he’s only 19 - it’s as if you’re talking to a 40-year-old’.

By the time Butland is 40, he could have a stack of international caps.

And £3.5 million will probably be seen as one of the bargain buys.

Jack Butland in action

That’s why it’s all the more galling for Blues followers watching such a prospect ushered out the door because of the state the club are in.

Butland has sympathy for those he will eventually leave behind.

“It’s out of our control, it’s out of the fans’ control - there’s nothing they, the staff or us players can do about it.

“The only thing we can concentrate on is playing the games and the fans turning up every week like they always do.

“There were an incredible amount of fans who turned up on Saturday - they filled that whole end stand.

“I don’t think they’ve changed at all. I think that’s very important they keep supporting the way they’ve been doing all season and whatever happens with the owners, happens.

“It’s nothing we can control so, for them, it’s just to continue supporting the way they have and for the players and staff to continue the way they are.”

Butland is not yet the finished article. He made errors earlier in the season that cost Blues points. But he is improving all the while and it is scary to think how good he could become as he has all the attributes a top class goalkeeper needs.

It is no coincidence that Maik Taylor, Ben Foster and Joe Hart, during their time training with him at Blues, all tipped Butland to become a major star.

And Butland won’t fall off the rails. The way he has been brought up, and handled by Blues, will see to that.

Those London-based journalists at Charlton asked Butland about the influences on his character, and where his values come from.

“Just the people I’ve had around me,” he replied. “My parents throughout the whole thing have always been by my side.

“My mum’s the first one, if ever she has to say anything to keep me in check. I’d like to think she’s not had to, with the way I’ve been bought up.

“You can’t take anything for granted. I know that and I feel very privileged for the education I’ve had and the people I’ve been able to work with.

“I had Dave Watson for five years as my goalkeeper coach - he’s a task master, the first one in and an inspiration for setting down a way of thinking, a way of working that’s non-stop, 110 per cent.

“And you get out what you put in. That’s something I’ve always kept with me and I’ve been lucky to have the right people around me throughout my whole time at Birmingham.

“My friends and everyone at Birmingham have always been supportive of me, made sure I’ve never let it get away from me and to keep striving for more.”

Jack Butland in action: Birmingham City are starting to show the right spirit to win, says teenage prodigy